What is the difference between a convenience store and a supermarket?

Ling Beast Mountain Viewpoints: Convenience stores and supermarkets are fundamentally different, and some supermarkets are often mistaken for convenience stores, but in fact, there are big differences between the two in terms of their positioning, goods and services, marketing models, profit models, and competitive dimensions. The biggest difference is that supermarkets meet the needs of consumers in their daily lives, and convenience stores are a supplement to life and provide convenience services. Supermarkets are greatly influenced by online retailing, while convenience stores have more potential for development.

A. Positioning: Supermarkets sell goods, convenience stores provide services

Supermarkets and convenience stores are to meet the needs of life, and are very close to consumers. Supermarkets provide a wider variety of goods, so that more to meet the needs of customers' lives, even if the smaller supermarkets will have 4000-5000 single products, a purchase of most can be complete. For example, large packages of rice, flour, oil and fresh commodities and other necessities, all business activities are to commodity sales, such as sales and improve customer unit price , service is also to achieve more sales.

Convenience stores are generally not more than 80 square meters, the number of single product can be achieved 2500 has been very good, looks like also in the sale of goods, but in fact, the sale of services, commodities is a part of the service, the service is convenience and accessibility. The large package category belongs to the supermarket while the convenience store only provides goods and services for emergency needs, such as cigarettes and ready-to-eat goods, including coffee and bento, etc. are also centered around convenience services.

In terms of positioning, supermarkets are more integrated and comprehensive, convenience stores as a complementary life to adapt to a faster pace of life, generally these two business will not conflict, but if they are opened in the same community there will be a certain amount of customer groups cross, but essentially because both sides are competing for the same flow, the need for higher to do the segmentation of the market.

Second, the business district: the supermarket business district radiation, convenience store stores density

thousands of square meters of large supermarkets can radiate 3 kilometers range, a few hundred square meters of community supermarkets will cover a kilometer or so, supermarkets subdivided out of the fresh food supermarkets are almost the same, but they have a **** the same point is that you can not high-density store, otherwise it will lead to a decline in full competition and profits. Essentially, supermarkets have the advantage of being able to purchase all the goods at once, so they are low-frequency in high-frequency consumption, in addition to fresh goods most goods are not necessarily purchased every day.

Convenience stores sell convenience services to meet the immediate needs of temporary life supplement consumers do not need to queue up at the supermarket, as long as the convenience store merchandise organization is still good, to meet the demand is not difficult. Because of this convenient demand everywhere, the convenience store will not be as wide as the radiation of the supermarket, and the need for a higher density of stores to complete this service. For example, 300m-500m can have 2 convenience stores or even more.

In addition, the high density of the convenience store is three-dimensional, can be in the office on the entire floor customer service, can also be in the street radiation of a neighborhood, but also in the hospital or school around, and supermarkets obviously can not do this kind of business circle service. Because fully meet consumer demand supermarkets can be, but to provide convenience services or convenience stores radiation better.

Third, commodities: supermarket commodities more than full, convenience stores streamlined and effective

Because of the different positioning functions, supermarket commodities are mainly category management, can not lack of categories and brands is most important, because to meet the needs of more customers, such as fresh, food and oil seasoning and alcohol and leisure, as well as daily cleaning and washing and other essentials is never less than, mainly

Convenience stores are not like this, although a small convenience store can also do more than 2,000 single product, the big chain can even do 2,500-3,000 single product, but each single product must be useful, that is, there must be a customer to buy, and will not be like a supermarket to do category management as much as possible. Because of this single product management difficulty coefficient is high, coupled with the limited display space many single products are a display surface, some goods are still vertical display, such as toothpaste.

Convenience store merchandise is also quite a lot, it seems to be more, but in fact is streamlined. Because the single product management to the extreme is that each commodity will become a pop-up, and will not take up space, which is also mentioned later in the high ping efficiency. Supermarkets have relatively ample operating space to focus more on the full range of goods do not lack of goods.

Fourth, the competition: supermarket competition dimension is not as wide and deep as the convenience store and flexible

In addition to community-based, supermarkets and convenience stores offline competition is generally not too serious, especially convenience stores, as long as the density and consumption capacity is not too imbalanced basically live, but the two modes of business in the competition dimension has a big difference. Mainly online on the impact of standardized goods and industry segmentation generated by the traffic dilution.

On-line e-commerce platforms have a great impact on offline stores, especially pre-packaged standardized goods, as long as they are not particularly urgent in the efficiency of the standardized goods can be completely replaced by the purchase of the offline, which is precisely the main categories of supermarkets. Because this competition can not be avoided, supermarkets are now more focused on non-standard fresh categories, consumer experience and digital marketing.

Convenience store convenience services but is not a platform business can be completely hit , even if the home service is very popular today, convenience and accessibility is also very difficult to replace, to the store service can do better, and private convenience stores can be more flexible to participate in the competition, reach and build the ability to consume the scene is stronger.

V. Profitability and marketing: supermarkets need high turnover profit, convenience stores need high ping efficiency profit

Supermarket commodity prices are relatively low in the retail sector, Coke outside the 3 yuan supermarkets to sell 2.5 yuan, because of its ability to do centralized purchasing to depress the price of inputs, this low gross profit needs to be a large number of sales to build up profits, in addition to platform commissions and other non-operating income, high turnover and sales volume is very important!

High turnover and sales volume are very important assessment indicators.

Convenience store area of small commodities, their own service as the core logic, want to sell a large number of is impossible, there is no location to put a few dozen boxes of the same single product promotions, in fact, this is no value will eventually lose money. Therefore create higher ping efficiency is the convenience store care, while high gross profit is also inevitable.

This will understand why Rosen and other convenience stores sell some expensive goods, why many convenience stores are more like restaurants have so many non-standard products, differentiated original goods why the ultimate pursuit of convenience stores, and these are all around the high ping efficiency . The same is 50 yuan of customer unit price, supermarket gross margin may be 12%, the convenience store may reach 20%.

Precisely because of the difference in business philosophy, supermarkets market themselves by promoting sales through ultra-low prices and visual displays to maximize unit prices and connected purchases. Convenience stores tend to recommend newly developed products, while at the checkout counter by the clerk to do plus one dollar more one piece and other marketing actions. In addition, the convenience store connection attribute is more powerful, heterogeneous alliances, private domain community and community group purchasing and other modes more comfortable.

Six, other and summary

The difference between supermarkets and convenience stores is essentially the difference in positioning and functionality, which is also the change in consumer habits, spending power resulting in different convenience stores are in the evolution of supermarkets to a certain stage in order to develop the business. A sale of goods by the service to promote, a sale of services and goods is part of the service, future business will enter the category of selling services.

The difference between the two is not limited to these, in the specific operation of the organizational structure, management system and process model is also a big difference, but these are intrinsic ability of the field. But first understand these external differences, at least the development trend of supermarkets and convenience stores have a certain knowledge.

As for whether the convenience store needs to be chained, the question of whether it can still be done is this. Convenience stores can be chained in order to have the right to speak and competitiveness, but individuals can also open, although it can not compete with the chain brand, but the giant's digital empowerment can also make the individual store has a certain transformation opportunity.

Convenience stores focus on more goods consumed outside, such as water ah, snacks ah, as well as ready-to-eat food is more, and supermarkets favor family consumption is more a little more, most of the go to the supermarket to buy is a family procurement; convenience store shopping is biased towards a small number of individual retail, supermarkets are biased in favor of large quantities of family purchases.

The difference is that the supermarket is larger than the convenience store, the variety can be more choices, the price will be relatively favorable. Convenience store franchises usually start at 200,000 dollars. If you don't have more than 3 years of experience in the retail industry, don't touch it. Either that or join. But if you join, there are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that a dragon delivery, a dragon store, but the cost is too high. The disadvantage is that the price of goods in the store can not be adjusted at random, to join the system by their own adjustments, they can not find another source of goods back to buy.

Convenience stores and supermarkets are still very different.

What is the core of a convenience store? It is convenience. Imagine, are cooking, no more soy sauce, you will choose to go to the supermarket, the mall to buy? Convenience store shopping is often impulsive consumption, big box stores often belong to the planned consumption. Although there is a lot of similarity in what is sold, the two belong to different business models.

Convenience stores, compared to supermarkets, are closer to consumers in terms of distance, and are widely available in various streets, neighborhoods, and other places that are generally within walking distance.

Generally, convenience stores have very long business hours, even 24 hours a day and all year round.

At the same time, the convenience store has a lot of convenient services, and strive to provide customers with multi-level services, such as collection and delivery of courier, photocopying, payment of water, electricity and coal bills, rechargeable phone bills and so on.

The convenience store itself is a very fuzzy concept, the core is convenient, can be self-managed or chain.

I. Business location

In general, the operating area of the convenience store is relatively small, the location of the convenience store is generally a busy district entrance or crowded downtown streets, as well as high-grade office buildings underneath; and supermarkets it is generally based on the business positioning of the different shopping centers or supermarkets are divided into the life of the supermarket, so supermarkets are generally located in busy shopping centers (boutique supermarkets, such as BHG, box horse, etc.) or at intersections (such as BHG, box horse, etc.). ) or at intersections (such as Carrefour), or in dense community centers (such as Yonghui, etc.);

II. Business area

Convenience stores are generally smaller business area, there is a little more than 200 square meters, such as 7-11, there is a little smaller more than 50; supermarkets are generally different according to the size of the business area is positioned differently;

Third. Business categories

The business categories of the convenience store is mainly based on the location and determine its direction, for example, in the high-end office building under the 7-11, about 50% of the operating area for fresh food commodities; conventional convenience stores are more leisure food and beverages, tobacco and alcohol-based, fresh convenience stores are more to one-day life of the main commodities (fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, rice, grain, oil, condiments, etc.).

Supermarkets generally have a focus in the operation of the time, some of which is to strengthen the fresh mainly supermarkets, some of which is based on a comprehensive business-oriented, but on the whole to meet the daily needs of customers, business category is more complete, to meet the needs of customers one-stop shopping;

Fourth. Consumer Groups

The existence of convenience stores is mainly to solve the customer's urgent need for goods, convenience store prices are generally slightly higher than the supermarket and because of its location, so the convenience store customers are mainly young customers and office workers;

Supermarkets according to their positioning, the main consumer groups are different; such as boutique supermarkets, its main groups are After 80 after 90 and 00, and hypermarkets or life supermarkets is basically the whole customer group coverage.

V. Shelf selection

Because the convenience store store area is small, generally in order to highlight the permeability of the store, in the selection of shelves to 1.4 meters, and supermarkets due to the operation of the area is relatively large, the goods business category is complete, the operation of the number of single product. Therefore, in the choice of shelves on the boutique supermarkets are more use 1.6 meters +2.2 meters mainly, some conventional hypermarkets are 1.8 meters +2.2 meters mainly;

VI. Decoration design

The first two years due to the positioning of many convenience stores decided to decorate above the grade to be higher than the supermarket, but in recent years due to the customer's shopping experience is more and more important, supermarkets in the design of the decoration are making adjustments, especially in the last two years, many domestic supermarkets are in the decoration of this piece of investment is very large, the store with more ceiling spotlights VICI, etc., to enhance the customer's shopping Comfort.

VII. Business hours

Supermarkets in general business hours in summer is generally longer (8:00 - 10:00) fall and winter is generally shorter (8:30 - 21:00) the actual situation of each point is not the same.

Convenience stores are doing a lot of 24-hour business model, which facilitates a late work or overtime customer demand.

Eight. Customer service

Convenience stores due to its location, some customers for convenience, so there will be some fixed groups, so the flexibility of the service is better than the supermarket; (such as receiving and sending express delivery, etc.)

Supermarkets have more than the convenience store customer service programs, but in the initiative is still slightly weaker.

Now the national distinction between supermarkets and convenience stores is still a little unclear, first of all, the convenience store is generally for the area of the smaller stores, common: 711, Yattang small super, Red Flag, the United States and so on. Supermarkets are common: Carrefour, Walmart, Wing Fai, etc. Supermarkets cover far more commodities than convenience stores, convenience stores are just some general merchandise, daily necessities-based sales.

Convenience stores, as the name suggests, emphasize convenience, the general store opened in the district, the station, and other densely populated, high-flow places, the store area is small, varieties of daily necessities based on food. Supermarkets according to the size of the area can cover a radius of 1 ~ 5 kilometers of the region, the supermarket more commodities, covering all aspects of life. Convenience store to choose a good brand to join, in the choice of goods, store decoration, brand effect than their own open a small store is much better.